Highlight: Despite enduring a leg cramp over the final 40 yards of the play, Seastrunk streaked for a game-clinching 76-yard TD run to ice the Bears’ victory over Oklahoma State, punctuating his 178-yard effort on the ground.

Lowlight: Rushed for 91 yards, his lowest total in the final surge, in the Bears’ loss at Oklahoma.

“I'm going to stand by what I said, and I'm not going to take anything back. People have always mistaken my confidence for cockiness. I don't get that. I'm actually a very humble person.”

Instead, the Temple native is more readily embracing team goals that would bolster his Heisman candidacy if the Bears achieve them.

“The goals I'm going to set are to win the Big 12 championship and to win a national championship. And if I happen to fall into the accolades to get it, so be it.”

Seastrunk played like a legitimate Heisman candidate late last season as he emerged as one of the primary reasons the Bears won five of their last six games and charged into the Holiday Bowl.

He averaged 159.3 yards over Baylor's final four games and had six carries of at least 30 yards. He finished with 1,012 yards and set the school's single-season mark of 7.7 yards per carry.

His Heisman comments were readily embraced by Baylor coach Art Briles, who wants his players to believe they can accomplish any goal if they set their minds to it.

“Everybody thinks Lache is this guy with the big bold prediction,” Briles said. “But he's a guy who can play. And he made one statement that I was proud of, quite honestly.

“I don't want our guys not thinking they are great. It's not like he woke up this morning and thought, 'I'm going to be really good today.' He's got the facts to back it up.”

His emergence at Baylor speaks to his resiliency after he washed out at Oregon, his initial college choice. Seastrunk was ranked as the nation's No. 2 prospect by MaxPreps.com but never earned much playing time with coach Chip Kelly and the Ducks.

His dissatisfaction led to his transfer where he could be closer to his family.

“I don't regret my time there (at Oregon),” Seastrunk said. “Honestly, I wasn't good enough. There's nothing else I can say about that. I still don't think I was good enough when I was there. That (memory) makes me work hard every day so I can be great.”

Those skills were exhibited in a memorable, game-clinching 76-yard touchdown run in the closing minutes of a Bears' victory over Oklahoma State in the final home game of last season.

After flying past a punishing clearing block at the line of scrimmage by Baylor All-Big 12 guard Cyril Richardson, Seastrunk outraced the Cowboys and the game officials. With nothing but the end zone in front of him, his quadricep began cramping about 40 yards from the goal line. Even with the injury, he still outran everyone for the score.

“Cyril plowed somebody over, and I ran right behind him as fast as I could,” Seastrunk said. “And then, all of a sudden, I felt the weirdest thing in my quad. It was to the point where I was running, and then it was numb. I felt like I had one leg.”

That “SportsCenter” moment still prompts some good-natured kidding from his teammates. Baylor safety Ahmad Dixon joked Seastrunk spent too much time in the cool climate of the Pacific Northwest and forgot how hot it could be playing in Texas.

“That was probably one of his first games in the heat,” Dixon said. “He hadn't run the ball that much down here since high school. At that time, he wasn't ready for it. Now, there's no telling what he'll do.”

Some have wondered how Seastrunk would get enough carries to pile up the yardage needed for a Heisman run with the presence of Glasco Martin in the backfield. Their styles complement each other. Martin is a bruising bulldozer who plows over opponents, while Seastrunk runs past them.

“Glasco is the man,” Seastrunk said. “He'll get you the tough yardage on third and fourth down. He's the player who people really fear. They fear 'Thunder.' I'm just a finesse guy with a lightning bolt coming through every now and then.”

While the self-proclaimed “Lightning Bolt” is far down on most Heisman lists heading into the season, recent winners have emerged from far outside the pack.

In each of the last two seasons, the eventual winners were off the map as contenders in August. Robert Griffin III was coming off an injury as he started his junior season in 2011. And Johnny Manziel hadn't even nailed down Texas A&M's starting job at this point last year.

The Big 12 media saw something in his fast finish, picking Seastrunk as the conference's preseason offensive player of the year. In a league in which it's hard to find major offensive weapons, Seastrunk figures to be the most explosive player in the conference.

So maybe it isn't so far-fetched to think Seastrunk can win the Heisman with a big season and a couple of breaks along the way.

“I knew that everything could happen if things fall into place,” he said. “I've been working very hard. Why not?”